Program Innovation Manager

Who We Are

International Justice Mission (IJM) is the global leader in protecting vulnerable people from violence around the world. Our team of over 1,300 professionals are at work worldwide in over 30 offices. Together we are on a mission to rescue millions, protect half a billion, and make justice unstoppable.

We are a global community that cares for one another. We believe that the way we work is as important as the results we achieve. We provide professional excellence with joy and celebration to all those we serve.

For over 25 years, IJM has pioneered the work to protect vulnerable people from violence. 9 out of 9 times in the last decade, IJM's Justice System Strengthening Projects have reduced slavery and violence between 50 and 85% for very large populations of people in poverty. As we grow to expand our impact to protect 500 million people from violence, we are seeking a Program Innovation Manager supports solving complex challenges at the intersection of human-centered design, technology, and social impact.

This role identifies emerging opportunities, develops and tests new concepts, builds prototypes, leverages technology to accelerate impact, and helps scale proven solutions across programs. The ideal candidate is equally comfortable facilitating design workshops, creating mock-ups in Figma, evaluating emerging technologies, conducting rapid experimentation, and guiding adoption of successful innovations.

This role also serves as IJM's explorer of technology-enabled solutions for our programming, identifying opportunities where emerging technologies can strengthen prevention, improve reporting, enhance investigations, support survivor services, and increase the effectiveness of justice systems.

This position is hybrid (onsite Tuesdays & Thursdays) and located in the Washington, DC area. It reports to Director, Program Innovation and is only available for candidates with the right to work in the US.

• Support the creation and execution of IJM’s program innovation strategy, integrating emerging technologies and innovation methodologies to future-proof programming and expand and advance the Program Roadmap.
• Partner with program teams, survivors, governments, and external technology innovators to identify opportunities where emerging technologies can improve prevention, reporting, investigations, prosecutions, survivor services, and broader justice system outcomes.
• Forge strategic partnerships with tech innovators, research institutions, and program offices to co-develop and validate technology-enabled solutions that accelerate justice system transformation.
• Develop and institutionalize ethical and operational guidelines for technology-driven programming, interventions, ensuring compliance with safeguarding, data privacy, and global standards.
• Translate complex technology and insights into clear, actionable briefs and presentations for senior leadership and field teams to inform decision-making and scaling strategies.
• Design and deliver advanced training programs on innovation tools and technology applications, equipping IJM teams to prototype and scale tech-enabled interventions effectively.
• Lead rapid research and pilot management for technology-driven solutions, synthesizing evidence and monitoring outcomes to inform scale-up decisions and global guidance.
• Lead major prototyping efforts for UX/UI elements in IJM’s program data management systems.
• Lead discovery, rapid experimentation, and prototype development efforts to investigate program challenges and test potential solutions. Design and run innovation pilots, synthesize evidence, and refine concepts for scale.
• Develop low-fidelity and functional prototypes using tools such as Figma, AI-assisted development platforms, workflow automation tools, and no-code technologies to rapidly validate concepts before larger investment decisions.
• Maintain a centralized knowledge hub for incubation efforts, including prototypes, technology assessments, and learning reports, to enable organizational learning and replication.
• Coordinate and lead cross-functional meetings with global and regional stakeholders to align incubation…